TEXAS & SPOONER OLDHAM
The Muscle Shoals Sessions (PIAS)
Listening now to Texas’ career-spanning Very Best Of 1989-2023 compilation from last year, it’s evident that this successful Scottish band with Sharleen Spiteri at its helm has always had a fad-free no-nonsense and timeless soul/blues authenticity at their heart, something likely the key to their longevity and ability to fill arenas. For this latest album, after all, Texas went to the Fame Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals to refine – as opposed to define – their songs, with the help of producer, keyboardist and Southern soul heavyweight Spooner Oldham.
This guy’s CV includes playing on Aretha Franklin albums, co-writing credits with Dan Penn, and if that wasn’t quite enough to shout about, Oldham has also worked with both Neil Young and Bob Dylan. As for The Muscle Shoals Sessions? Of the 12 Texas songs deconstructed in Fame, I Don’t Want A Lover, In Our Lifetime and a superb cover of Charles & Eddie’s Would I Lie To You are more than enough to show that Texas and Spooner Oldham is a combination which fits like a glove.
words DAVID NOBAKHT